Uniforms & Equipment

Oliver Pattern Equipment

The load-bearing equipment worn by the Canadians in South Africa was
their own Oliver Pattern. Designed by J.W. Oliver, a surgeon serving
with the British Army in the Red River Expedition of 1870, it was
intended to keep a soldier self-sufficient on the march over long
periods and was constructed entirely of brown leather. Although
rejected by the British Army, it did catch the eye of senior officials
in the Canadian Militia, who recommended its adoption in 1883. It did
not go into production until 1898, however.

The equipment consisted of a waistbelt with brass snake buckle, an
eighty-round cartridge pouch, bayonet frog, pint water bottle and
carrier, canvas valise (knapsack), mess tins and canvas cover, and a
set of braces, with shoulder yoke, to carry the weight. A white canvas
haversack with a shoulder strap and a set of leather greatcoat straps
also formed part of the equipment.

In South Africa, the Canadians experienced a number of problems with
their Oliver Pattern equipment. First, the pint water bottle proved
much too small and fragile for serious military campaigning, and the
troops jettisoned it soon after their arrival at Cape Town in favour
of the larger British Mark IV pattern, made of enamelled steel. The
place of the ammunition pouch in front of the abdomen also caused
problems. When fully loaded with eighty cartridges it was heavy and
unbalanced a man's gait. Moreover, when forced to the ground to take
cover from enemy fire, the pouch dug into a man's stomach. Reloading
from such a position was also difficult, with the pouch between the
soldier and the ground. The problem was relieved to some degree by
the adoption of hundred-round web bandoliers worn over the shoulder.

The members of Canadian mounted units in South Africa wore a
variation of the Oliver Pattern Equipment, consisting of a belt,
bayonet, and haversack. As mounted troops they also carried a holster
and a leather ammunition bandolier. The Canadian-made holster held a
Colt .455 New Service Revolver. The
bandolier was of the Orndorff pattern worn by British mounted units, and
consisted of a wide leather belt that was draped over the left shoulder,
and held under the right arm. It could carry fifty rounds of .303
ammunition in five separate pouches.

Despite its problems, the Oliver Pattern Equipment remained in use
for the duration of the South African War. Canadian soldiers even wore
it during the First World War, where it proved entirely inadequate to
the conditions of service and was replaced by British-issue web
gear.